This Buck
This Tommy
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@monstream
This Buck
This Tommy
AU where a small but not insignificant amount of the population have superpowers and they’re genetic
Connor and Kameron bring Theo to Buck not because of his hyperactivity (though that’s definitely still there), but because he has developed a superpower and has all the impulse control of a 4 year old and two non-superpowered parents. Kameron got herself tested and she is negative for the superpowers gene, so it MUST come from Buck.
Buck has never even considered that he might have a superpower, as they normally develop in childhood or adolescence. But he gets tested and it’s positive. (The Buckley parents knew but somehow managed to falsify his medical records so it wouldn’t interfere with him donating for Daniel)
The crash still happens and now he’s an instant father to a hyperactive grieving superpowered child. It breaks his heart to have to put a power suppression device on Theo so he can attend school safely, as Theo says it itches and it makes him feel weird to not access his superpower.
Buck goes into full research mode, spending hours looking at ways to help his son. He comes across Tommy Kinard, a superpower therapist who specialises in helping children control their powers.
Tommy is great with Theo, it’s slow going because he’s only small and is deeply affected by the loss of his parents, but it’s making a huge difference.
Tommy got into his line of work because his own superpowers developed suddenly and violently, causing injuries, and he still feels guilty about it. Buck mentions his own superpower never manifested and Tommy offers to spend some time outside of Theo’s sessions to help Buck develop it safely so it doesn’t manifest dangerously during a time of stress. Buck jokes that if it didn’t happen during a tsunami or a truck falling on him or being struck by lightning it’s probably never going to, but he agrees.
His power manifests the first time Tommy kisses him.
My Response to Tim Minear's Season 9 Interview - PART 6
"The firefighter auction" - PART 3
Eddie wasn’t discovering that Chris was still at home until the end of act one, and I’m like, “We can’t do that. I think we have to reveal this right up front. I think it needs to be the end of the teaser,” which I think it is, because we’ve been off the air. It was a bit; it was kind of a mid-season finale, if I’m not mistaken. Everyone’s going to expect that we’re going to come back, and we’re going to be doing the Chris is missing episode, just like the Harry is missing episode, or the Maddie is missing episode, and I never wanted to do that.
So either they’re going to be really disappointed that, like, wah, wah, just kidding, he wasn’t really abducted. I think they’ll forgive it more if that card is turned over earlier. I don’t remember what I made the first act break, but as you can tell, I move things around in post all the time. It’s also been a challenge to find ways to incorporate May’s character, right? I wanted them both to be regulars, which they are. She’s wonderful, and she’s been around since the very beginning, and obviously, it’s easier to kind of get Harry into the action because I made him join the 118, which is the way to keep Athena having emotional stakes tied to the firehouse now that Bobby is no longer there. It was actually Corinne’s idea for May to pursue nursing.
She called me, and she’s like, “Here’s what I’m thinking.” She was very nervous. “What if she wanted to be a nurse and she could help people. It kind of goes back to the tsunami episode where she had to hold that woman’s neck.” I don’t know what she was expecting, but like, “I think that’s a great idea.” She’s like, “Really?” I’m like, “Yeah.” So we decided to go down that road, but I didn’t want to spend a lot of screen time on that until I kind of found a place to make a story about, what does May want to do in her future?
I’ve been trying to include Ravi more. I mean, because Eddie was busy with his Day of the Dead, Buck needed someone to have his séance scene with. I’m like, it should be Ravi, and for whatever reason, I’m like, “I think he has to show up dressed as Raggedy Andy.” Everyone in the room was just like, “What?” I’m like, “It’s just this image in my head of Buck opening the door, and there’s Ravi dressed as Raggedy Andy.” Anirudh did not want to do it.
Alayna, the costume designer, was like, “No, no, people are going to love this. It’s great.” She kind of talked him into it, and of course, you should do it, because it’s great. So I had these two characters that kind of get the short end of the stick, right? My feeling was like, I think they’d be a cute couple, and this would be a way to kind of fuel inject both of those characters by putting them together. So, that was the thinking there.
***
So we continue, because this is still part of that infamous answer about Ravi and May. 😂
And here, well, we're still talking about the fact that... this is all still tied to the scene where Chris disappears. It's still connected to the Abigail storyline, so even here he keeps explaining how this episode was probably very convoluted and how he ended up simplifying it and cleaning it up a bit.
And on that point, I actually agree with him, because when he explains how it was originally supposed to play out, it really would have been confusing. So then he explains how he fixed it.
Moving on, he finally gets to the question the interviewer had asked him what feels like an hour earlier.
So he finally gets to May and Ravi.
And he tells us that, obviously, the issue was: in the middle of all this chaos, how do I introduce May's character?
And he says that nowadays it's easier to have her interact with everyone than it was in the past because Harry is now part of the 118.
That's actually pretty interesting, because he also explains why Harry is now part of the 118. Apparently, it was created specifically so Athena could continue having a connection to the 118 without Bobby.
Otherwise, in some ways, it would have become more distant.
Sure, she knows Hen, who was her best friend, Chimney, and the others, but having her son working there creates a stronger connection.
It's a bit like when Bobby was there.
So that's apparently the real reason Harry became a firefighter, and honestly, I like that explanation.
But once again, he keeps talking about other topics because he still hasn't gotten to Ravi.
Even the fact that May ultimately pursues nursing happened because Corinne suggested it.
Corinne, I adore you. You know I love you. ❤️
At the end of the day, she's an actress, and as actors should, they suggest things that feel right for their characters.
But then it's up to you—the writers—to make it make sense.
Because you're the ones who had her spend a year at Dispatch after taking a gap year.
And then she suddenly decides to change direction.
Go back and watch Season 5 if I'm remembering correctly.
There's that conversation with Athena where it becomes clear that May chose law because Athena had studied law before becoming a police officer and never finished her degree.
But come on.
A girl who already had this desire to help people from the beginning, and who had already started realizing that during her time at Dispatch...
She doesn't throw away four years of college.
If I spent four years studying something and then went to my parents and said, "You know what? I never actually wanted to do this. I want to do something completely different," my parents would hang me from the nearest hook.
If this was something she felt from the beginning, then have her do one year of college and then say, "Mom, I'm trying, but I don't think law is for me."
Athena would probably tell her to do whatever she wants.
Maybe they didn't show that because, in my opinion, May is paying for college herself.
Athena would probably say, "You can waste as many years as you want."
But generally speaking, I find it to be wasted time.
The idea that a girl studies a subject for four years and then, after five minutes working with Gabby, suddenly realizes she doesn't like it and decides to go back to her original dream...
Considering how much Tim talks about how complicated timing was this season and how careful they had to be in telling stories properly...
This was handled terribly.
Corinne gave a good idea because she knows her character.
But it's the writers' fault that from Season 5 until now they completely forgot about May.
They kept having her study and pop up randomly every now and then without ever exploring the possibility that she might reach this realization earlier or through a different path.
So yes, Corinne was absolutely right to make that suggestion.
Because, in my opinion, she was drawing heavily from the tsunami episode that eventually led May to Dispatch.
Even back then, we understood that there was a direction there.
A path Ryan Murphy had already laid out.
Corinne remembered it.
Tim clearly didn't.
Because Ryan Murphy did an exceptional job with May Grant.
Tim Minear, meanwhile, never really considered her.
And then he tried to "fix" the character this season in a very clumsy way simply because Corinne reminded him what May's journey had always been.
Maybe it should have been done earlier.
And done better.
So yes, it was nice that they brought May back closer to her roots.
But it was done clumsily, in my opinion.
Then he says that at some point they wanted to include Ravi more because they felt this season...
And honestly, this part sounded a little stupid to me.
For example, he says that one way they included Ravi more was in the Día de los Muertos episode.
Buck was dealing with his issues, and they needed someone for the séance scene.
Okay.
So you're basically telling us Ravi is a filler character.
Whenever you need to fill a hole, you call Ravi.
I'm sorry, but that's exactly what that sounds like.
And then eventually—finally—we get there.
Guys, I got absolutely crucified.
Literally crucified.
The day after the episode aired where May and Ravi slept together.
I got destroyed when I said:
"I think this couple was thrown together because it feels like he doesn't know where to put Ravi, he doesn't know where to put May, so he puts them together and says problem solved."
Like, "I've got two characters left over. I don't know what the hell to do with either of them, so I put them together."
I got crucified for saying that.
And then in this interview, he basically says the exact same thing.
He says he had these two characters and didn't really know what to do with them.
Because he makes it very clear that if Corinne hadn't reminded him who May was and what her journey had been, he probably would have kept using her however he felt like.
At the same time, he says that he wanted Ravi to have a bigger presence this season.
And his idea of giving Ravi more presence was putting him in the séance scene with Buck so he'd have something to do.
With those two answers, Tim is basically telling us that he doesn't care about Ravi or May.
Because on one side, he needs the actress to remind him how to write her character.
And on the other side, he has a character who's been around since Season 4 and is treated like a gap-filler.
And then at some point he says, "I don't know what else to do with them."
So he puts them together.
And somehow that's supposed to be the solution.
Which is exactly what I said.
You didn't know what to do with them.
You threw them together hoping to create some hype.
Hoping something would come out of it.
Not because you genuinely wanted to build something meaningful between them.
But because you didn't know how else to make them stand out.
The only way was to create something that would make people say, "Aww, look, they're cute."
Basically, you had to rely on fanservice.
And I hate that.
If you like it, good for you.
I genuinely don't understand it.
Because if I were actually a fan of this pairing—as many people are—and if I had written fanfiction about them, as many people have because I've seen it on AO3, those people created storylines.
They created journeys.
They didn't just throw them together randomly the way he did.
So I hope those people are just as angry as I am.
I genuinely hope this becomes a couple that eventually gains some substance.
Even if I still don't like it, at least it would have a reason to exist.
Because right now it started badly, and it's hard to fix something after such a bad start.
Otherwise, I hope they don't have a future.
Because I want to see Ravi.
I want to see May.
I want to see their evolution.
I don't want to see them become relevant because they're pretending to be together.
Because objectively it feels like a couple he doesn't care about.
He gives them nothing.
There isn't a single truly deep or beautiful scene between them.
People say, "Look how sweet Ravi is. Look how supportive he is."
Yeah, because you see him sitting next to her in the hospital.
Or putting an arm around her shoulders.
But narratively speaking, that's not what I consider two people supporting each other or building something together.
Those are things that work in a show like Violetta or Il Mondo di Patty.
Not in 9-1-1.
Honestly, I find more depth, more chemistry, and more emotional development in Zed and Addison from Zombies.
And that's a movie series aimed at a younger audience.
Ravi and May shouldn't feel like a Disney Channel couple.
That's what I'm trying to say.
You expect a certain tone from Disney Channel.
You even wish there were more because you're older.
I ship Zed and Addison too. I'd love more kisses and more scenes.
But I understand the target audience doesn't allow for that.
In 9-1-1, though, finding a couple that feels equivalent to a Disney Channel pairing?
No.
Absolutely not.
It's ridiculous.
Truly ridiculous.
They built more emotional development for Zed and Addison than they did here.
And that's not normal considering the target audiences are supposed to be completely different.
Then you tell me there wasn't enough time.
Because we've understood that this is Tim's constant excuse throughout the interview:
There was never enough runtime.
Never enough minutes to properly develop certain storylines.
So many things had to be compressed.
Then don't do them.
And when I say "don't do them," I mean the expression we use in Italy:
Either do something properly or don't do it at all.
He chose to do it.
And he chose to do it badly.
You either take the time and find room for it, even if that means giving them small scenes over time.
Maybe not this season.
Maybe you slowly build them into Season 10.
Maybe that's when the relationship starts.
But no.
Because apparently the hype of Harry walking in and catching them together was too good to pass up.
Why?
Because it creates hype.
At this point, things are done because they create hype, not because they make sense or because they're well written.
No.
Take your time.
Build the relationship gradually.
Or don't do it at all.
I read this Tim Minear interview today while at work so I couldn't properly react, which is a shame because my mouth was ajar the entire fuckin time. So below are all quotes from Tim from this interview, under a cut cause this is gonna be long lol. Also I'm a little tipsy, sorry for the typos.
Can we at least SEE some of that struggle, please? It really felt like he missed the mark on especially Chimney's grief. The man was arguably the closest to Bobby, friend-wise, and yet after s8's funeral episode, we barely see any of it.
No you fucking don't.
I don't know enough about the industry to know if it's normal to be 20 MINUTES OVER regularly, but I know you could eliminate a bunch of unnecessary filming and no waste so many actors/crews time if you'd just PLAN AHEAD. So much of this interview is Tim (ironically) rambling on and on about how he goes over time and has to reel himself in. And it's like yeah dude that's what happens when you're flying by the seat of your pants.
Masks is one of the greatest episodes of 911, you raggedy bitch.
So Tim's answer to 'why was it so important to give Eddie and his culture a spotlight in day of the dead this year' was....well we needed an episode five, and it was gonna air around Halloween so...
Cause what the fuck does any of THIS mean
You wanted it to be about Bobby and taht's why you had to kill Abuela? Shut the fuck up, Tim.
This Lolita quote....
It's queer bait because they have no intention of making buddie canon, btw. Otherwise it would just be set up. Also I feel incredibly vindicated knowing Alex was being set up as a love interest. Also also your piss poor writing is why there was """"no chemistry"""" because these two actors had no problem being love interests in a different show, so it's not them dummy.
Ravi and May get the short end of the stick because you WRITE IT THAT WAY DUMBASS. I can't believe Corrinne had to fucking ASK for Nurse May. What the hell was Tim going to do with the character without her speaking up????
Amazing what you can realize when you stop focusing on two characters for long enough to remember you have SEVEN MAIN CHARACTERS
The only way to be a grown up is to have a kid, right right. And yeah of course you fucking make it up as you go. The only people who think you know what's going on are delusional.
This might deserve it's own post cause I doubt anyone is really reading this far in, but verrry interesting to suggest an actor might not be available during the 'why is buck a dad' question.
Look at him giving himself an out for this shit storyline already 'it was just emergency placement' 'i PROMISE we're not gonna copy henren and mara!!!'
This quote is for that one anon that swears Tim needed to plan the Theo story months in advance because they need to cast the kids.
Oh, but I thought you had a bunch of ideas for this storyline ready to go??? Fuck that stupid podcast, ain't nobody care what them three girls think
That's how Steven Spielberg does it too /s
Poor Ryan lmfao. What the fuck am I going to do with Eddie is crazy.
So you got rid of the scene at BABY NASH'S BIRTHDAY about a KOREAN FAMILY TRADITION in order to queerbait the buddies. Okay, right.
Just straight up stealing ideas from fans and admitting it lmao
Okay that's all, Tim, you slimy dog. You'll never see the pearly gates.
You know who wouldn’t have told Buck he was crazy for thinking Bobbys ghost was visiting him….
he definitely would've still said he was crazy, but he would've given him a kiss and sat down with him and the ouija board and kissed him again and cuddled when nothing ended up happening, forcing buck to process that bobby wasn't actually there
tommy would have come home, seen buck sitting there patiently with the ouija board and a hopeful smile, rolled his eyes and said, "i'll go get the candles, don't turn out all the lights until i get back" then turned to go grab the candles out of the spare bathroom without even taking his boots off
you know that when everyone at harbor finds out tommy is dating someone from the 118, they start a joke gofundme called "tommy kinard inevitable injury fund," but when they find out the person he's dating is evan crushed-by-firetruck-struck-by-lightning buckley, they start all contributing to it monthly in earnest
They check with Tommy how things are with his boyfriend at the start of every shift.
If they've just had a fight, he's grounded. Because That Bird Will Crash. from narrativium. To force Buckley to realize how important Tommy is to him.
If they've just got past a major milestone, he's grounded. Because, again, That Bird Will Crash. from narrativium. Because what is more entertaining to Fate than give Buckley angst and grief?
Otherwise he's allowed up in the air.
Tommy kinda thinks it's hokum, but he also has that bit of superstitious soul in him, and since the captain is in on the whole thing, Tommy follows orders and provides relationship updates every shift.
No one accounts for the freak earth tremor that brings down all of Harbor Station
Oh. He fell hard, did he?
obsessed w the fact that this guy is looking at a man ripe with boils springing q anon level conspiracy theories based off a substack and his face is still the epitomized oh the second buck opens his mouth. buck is giving a eulogy for a dead cowboy with a substack page, and it's clear he put thought and heart into it. tommy drove him to the new grave. tommy dressed up and let buck give his speech, because even if what buck was going through could have been solved in urgent care, he decided he was going to follow buck's lead. this was important to buck, and so it was important to tommy.
on the right, he's so happy for buck, because he knows buck has the kind of support system that will carry him through anything. he wants to be part of that (and he is, knowing what we know from this episode--we see bobby sharing his phone with athena, to suggest the groupchat is really specific to active members of the 118).
on the left, he's just so into buck's empathy. buck does and says things without thinking, he's so driven by his feelings, but even when he steps back he prioritizes the human integrity of every situation he encounters. even when he has the opportunity to step away from an incident, it's important to him that he works for a person-first resolution. buck knows what it's like to be a footnote in the lives of others, but tommy treats him like he's the entire narrative. tommy can think buck's ridiculous and blindingly adore him all at the same time, which he does. Tommy put on a suit and joined buck (also in a suit--yes, if it makes anyone feel better, whenever I see Buck in a suit I think about Bobby tying his tie for him), drove him even, because he was less invested in the horrorshow of his boyfriend's face and more invested that Buck got the closure he needed. Even when Tommy was losing his shit with Eddie-- have we ever seen a Buck Love Interest who is able to navigate Buck's weirder, sillier waters with grace (imagine getting up early and making breakfast for the person you love after they kept you up all night with hyperspecific 1800s cowboy facts-- I feel like my wife can genuinely hurt my feelings here).
"Not without feeding you" was an insane thing for Tommy to say, how did Buck not jump him right then and there?
"work in progress" is actually so misleading like it assumes that im actually making progress on my work
How about 5 facts hiAUtus: different first meeting for BuckTommy during one of the LAFD bachelor auction, and both are "on sale"?
ooooh oh my gosh okay this has been poking at my brain since you sent it to me. all righty, here we go! pre-s1 au.
buck gets roped into doing the lafd bachelor auction. hen tells him later (after he's been voluntold) that it's something of a new probie hazing. none of them ever want to do it but the 118 has to send someone, so… they send the new guy.
this is how buck finds out that bobby got signed up the first year he was in la, and that he'd gone on a painfully awkward lunch date with elaine maynard over at lapd (because she'd been told that someone at her station had to come and represent them at the auction, and that her half-hearted bid on bobby had been the winning one because apparently married men weren't big sellers at a dating auction. buck is shocked. shocked, he says.)
Cam 💜 If this inspires anything: Buck's house isn't haunted by Bobby, but his dreams are! He learns things from him he shouldn't be able to know including about Tommy.
not one hundred percent the ask, but! i hope you don't mind the artistic license taking to make bobby be around the whole time!
buck dreams about bobby after the funeral. he thinks it's just… normal, the kind of dreams you have about anyone after losing them, until he's over at athena's house and finds himself gravitating towards a drawer in the living room. inside is a jewellery box he remembers dreaming about, and when he hands it over to athena she opens it up to show buck the earrings bobby had told him about for the last two weeks, the ones he'd bought for her upcoming birthday. she hadn't even known he'd gotten her a present already.
then he starts to wonder.
the next time he falls asleep and dreams of bobby, he just stares at bobby for a long time, until bobby scratches the back of his neck and looks away sheepishly. "i told you it wasn't just a dream."
Thinking thoughts about the first time Tommy meets Theo (even if it is (most likely) only in my head). Buck is explaining everything, carefully watching Tommy's reaction.
"I should've known there was part of you in there."
Oh, here we go again, Buck thinks. This is Connor and Kameron all over again.
"Wha-what's that supposed to mean?"
"He's so bright, eager to learn, and easy to love."
"ravi is bad at giving gifts" NO!! ravi gave extremely thoughtful gifts
this baby doesn't need another toy he can't play with, he needs to be set up for a successful future
ravi knows firsthand 1) how much it sucks to be on your feet for hours at a time and 2) just how long nurses spend on their feet. he wanted to support may's new career, and this was a way to do that
they may not be sentimental gifts, but they show he spent time thinking about each of their lives and gifting with the intention of improving those lives in some small way
Tommy’s face after he dares ask Buck how he’s been in the last year
Okay babes here is my first chunk of hiatus-summer-writing-spree. Imagine this scene after Buck and Theo run into Tommy at a hardware store. More to come.
Its so late and I have work tomorrow I have GOT to go to sleep
"Buck why did the man call you 'Evan'?" Theo asks when Buck pulls them out of the lot, inbetween running his airplane-robot along the window and making appropriate airplane-robot noises.
"Well," Buck says, slowing to a stop at a red light and watching Theo via the rear view mirror, "that's my real first name."
"Noooooo," Theo says, shaking his head with abandon, "that's my other name!"
Buck laughs, thinking Theo must be thinking of a play or something from day care.
"What do mean, buddy?" He asks, eyes returning to the road as the light goes green and he crosses the intersection.
"Thee-OH-door EV-an!" He cries, the sound of the toy thunking against the window,
"—careful buddy," Buck starts, wincing, before he registers what Theo just said. "Wha- where did you hear that, Theo?"
"Mommy! Annnnnd Daddy. When they're mad!" He says, feet now thumping up and down as he kicks his legs. "Evan is my second name, I think. Evan is for when I'm in trouuuuble."
Buck feels a little like he's been clocked right in the throat, and it takes longer than he would like to respond.
"That's--that's your middle name. It's called a middle name." He says, croaky.
"Oh! Okay. What's your in-trouble-middle-name?" Theo asks, and for all the way he feels scooped out inside, he has to crack a smile.
"Evan is kind of my in trouble name too."
"So that man was mad? He didn't seem mad."
"No," Buck says, voice stronger now. "He wasn't mad, not really. Just surprised."
"Hmmmm," Theo deliberates, "adults are weeeeird."
"Adults are definitely weird, Theo. You're one smart kid."
"Yes!" Theo cries, voice going high pitched like it does every time Buck compliments him.
Theo falls into his own pretend world then, mumbling a disjointed story to himself the whole way back to the house.
Buck drives on, a piece within him simultaneously broken and glowing all at once
I know it's not the best time but mayravi stocks are up